动作技能（Motor skill）是有机体有效使用骨骼肌的技能。动作技能依赖于脑、骨骼、关节和神经系统的机能，因此动作技能包括这些系统的机能。大部分动作技能在儿童早期习得，尽管伤残会影响动作技能的发展。

动作技能可以分为两部分:

动作技能具有4个特征：

Due to the immaturity of the human nervous system at the time of birth, children grow continually throughout their childhood years. Many factors contribute to the ability and the rate that children develop their motor skills. Uncontrollable factors include: genetic or inherited traits and children with learning disorders. A child born to short and overweight parents is much less likely to be an athlete than a child born to two athletically built parents . Controllable factors include: the environment/society and culture they are born to. A child born in the city is much less likely to have the same opportunities to explore, hike, or trek the outdoors than one born in the rural area. For a child to successfully develop motor skills, he or she must receive many opportunities to physically explore the surroundings .